Health notes

U.S. government investigators found that 20 percent of the 127 weight-loss and immune-boosting supplements they purchased online and in retail stores across the country carried labels that made illegal claims to cure or treat disease, according to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition, many of the supplements lacked the scientific studies to support their suggested uses.

The investigators also found products that claimed to cure or prevent diabetes, cancer and HIV, which is strictly prohibited by law.

The report concluded that consumers may not just be wasting their money on pills or tablets, but they also could be endangering their health if they take a supplement in place of a drug, thinking it will have the same effect.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not approve the safety or effectiveness of dietary supplements before they are marketed.

Chewing food longer boosts full feeling

The oral stimulation of chewing food is an important factor in feeling full, according to researchers in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

In order to isolate the effects of chewing on satiety, researchers conducted a study in which 26 men chewed food for between one and eight minutes without swallowing; meanwhile their stomachs were filled with food through a feeding tube. A meal was given 30 minutes later. Those with longer chewing times consumed 19 percent fewer calories, demonstrating that the act of chewing impacted satiety.